The Path to the Body
by Guardian Alpha
Summary: Sequel to; The Road to the Heart. It has been eight years since Kira disappeared from the Gummiverse, and now she awakens in an all new world that is completely different from what she once knew, although she has been asleep the world around her has continued to change as new threats arise.
1. Reappearing in the Hour of Need

The Path to the Body  
Chapter 1: Reappearing In the Hour of Need

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters involved except Kira

It was dark that was all she could remember. She had been born in the darkness, and it had consumed her. At least, she thought that's what had happened. In the Gummiverse, a mystical universe full of worlds and countless adventures, a lone ship drifted through the nothingness. Its single occupant unconscious on the floor of the command deck. She had long black hair that came down to her knees, and she wore a black pair of pants that came up to the middle of her shins and looked extremely tight. Her shirt was blue and exposed her midriff and looked tight as well, her red jacket came down to the middle of her torso and barely covered any of her body. Her chest had also grown considerably from when she had been younger, stretching the material of her shirt to its limit. She stirred, releasing a small groan as she pushed herself up, her hair cascading down beside her head. She opened her eyes, revealing a beautiful, sky blue pair of eyes. She looked around herself before pushing up to her feet. This was Kira, a keyblade wielder, on her right wrist, a bracelet full of key chains dangled, clinking together as she moved.

"What… what happened?" She asked, putting her free hand against the side of her head. She squeaked, her voice sounded a little deeper than she remembered.

She looked down and noticed for the first time the clothes that seemed all too small.

"What… where am I?" She asked herself, the slight sound of her voice the only noise in the ship as it drifted along quietly.

Kira walked over to the command console and powered it on, immediately a screen came up that showed a blond haired man wearing an orange band around his forehead, he had a small stick in his mouth that moved as he contemplated what he was doing. He had on a white shirt and blue pants and was looking down at a keyboard that he was using. Behind him Kira could see a brown, wooden floor.

"Hello?" She asked, her memory coming back of how this system worked.

The man started, giving a yelp of surprise, "Yuffie, I swear if this is another one of your ninja pranks!" he shouted looking up at the screen. He stopped, his mouth agape, the small stick fell out of his mouth as he stared up at the screen.

"Kira…" he asked slowly.

"Cid?" She asked him.

He nodded, "What happened? The last time we talked you'd just left Neverland."

"I don't know. I was on my way to Hallow Bastion when a vortex of some kind of strange energy ate my ship. It knocked me out and killed the power. I just woke up and turned the ship back on."

Cid shook his head. "Kira, do you know what's going on?" He asked.

"Last I knew I needed to take out the Heartless."

"No! That's not all, there are these things, called keyholes, and they lock the heart of the worlds and if they get locked up the Heartless don't go after them at all!"

"What?! Where did you hear this?" Kira asked him, "I've got to go back and seal all the keyholes!" She continued, completely ignoring Cid now, "Did the person who explained this tell you anything else about them? Maybe where they are or how to find them. If they didn't I don't know where to begin! I mean I cleared out so many worlds and helped so many people!"

"Kira!" Cid shouted.

She stopped talking.

"Listen, it's already been taken care of. This other kid, Sora, he came along and fixed it." Cid explained.

"There's another keyblade wielder?" She asked.

Cid nodded. "Listen, go find Master Yen Sid, he's in this place called Twilight Town. He'll be able to explain everything."

Kira nodded, looking down at her console as Cid began to send new data. She activated the auto-pilot and the ship began to slowly make its way through the Gummiverse.

"Why is the ship so slow?" Kira asked Cid.

"Yours is an older model, and when Sora seal the final keyhole the whole Gummiverse changed, worlds moved to make room for ones that had been consumed by the Heartless and all those holes in existence, like the one I assume swallowed you, disappeared. This brought a new wave of Gummi technology into the fold as everything about the older model was updated or replaced entirely." Cid explained.

Kira nodded as she took in all this information.

"I've also heard that some of the key chains from other worlds don't work anymore. You may want to check yours out." Cid told her, noticing her bracelet.

She nodded and stepped away from the console. As the ship made its way through the enlarged Gummiverse she confirmed that all of her key chains still worked, but her Gravity, Stop, and Aero spells no longer functioned. When she questioned Cid he called Merlin over who explained that the new atmosphere of the worlds prevented some of the older spells from working. He would train her to use the new spells that had been discovered.

As she reached Twilight Town Kira sighed, so much had changed since she'd disappeared. Literally the whole universe had become something completely different. She disembarked from the ship and appeared in front of a large, spiral tower. She walked up the steps and knocked on the double doors that marked the entrance. One of them creaked open and she stepped inside, as she passed the threshold the door creaked closed. She looked around and saw a spiral staircase leading to the top of the tower. She made her way up the stairs, and after a few hours, and what seemed like thousands of twisting, spiral stairs. She arrived in a small, circular room. In the middle of the room sat a man in a blue robe with a blue wizard hat that was decorated in star patterns, he was in a high backed chair, sitting behind a long desk.

"Kira I presume." He asked her in a calm, deep voice.

She nodded shyly.

"Come in, don't be afraid my dear." He said, lifting a hand and beckoning her forward.

Kira slowly walked over to the man and he snapped his fingers, summoning a chair. Kira sat down at a signal from the man.

"So, you come with questions about this strange new world I presume?" The man asked her.

"Yes." Kira told him, nodding slowly.

"Well, ask away child. I will answer to the best of my ability." The man told her.

Kira nodded, "Are you Master Yen Sid?" She asked.

"Indeed I am."

"Then, can you explain to me what happened in the eight years after I went missing?"

Yen Sid nodded and dove into a deep, and complex explanation of what happened after she'd disappeared. When she'd fallen into the hole in existence that had eaten her Gummi ship, her key chains had returned to the worlds to await another key bearer to claim them. That wielder was Sora, he went on a quest after finding out about the world's keyholes, and he traveled to each world and sealed the keyholes, keeping the heartless at bay. As he traveled he made new friends and defeated many enemies, growing stronger as he did. When it came time for him to fight his final opponent; Ansem the seeker of Darkness, he used the power of his friends and the light of Kingdom Hearts, the keyhole to all worlds, to defeat him and seal the power of darkness away. This reset everything as worlds that were once consumed by the Heartless returned to their positions, the worlds that had been unaffected moved to their old positions. The whole of the universe had changed because of Sora's actions, and when he set off on a new quest to find his friends, he noticed that his old key chains were missing, as their previous and rightful owner, had appeared to claim them again.

"So, the key chains I obtained in the previous worlds…"

"They're yours, and yours alone to wield. Sora will receive his own keys in due time." Yen Sid explained.

"What about the Heartless?"

"They've returned now, stronger than before, as the new worlds that were returned with the locking of Kingdom Hearts haven't had their keyholes sealed, and the worlds that had theirs locked have been reset." Yen Sid told her.

"Then I've got to go fix it." She said, standing immediately.

"Calm down child, and listen. You have done a great deed, in your time you defeated many Heartless and many powerful enemies that Sora himself struggled against. Its time your actions were rewarded."

"What do you mean?" Kira asked as she sank back down into the chair.

"I mean, that you are to partake of the Mark of Mastery Exam." Yen Sid told her.

"The what?" She asked.

"The Mark of Mastery Exam is an exam given to all Keyblade wielders when their skills seem to be strong enough. You have defeated many enemies and did so on your own with a little help from some friends, Sora has had the assistance and guidance of those who came before him, you." Yen Sid told her. "I will give you the exam, and if you should pass, you will become a keyblade master."

Kira was in shock, a Keyblade Master, she'd wanted to become one ever since she found out she could wield a Keyblade, but she knew it would be years before she was even close to becoming one, and now here was her chance.

"What will I have to do?" She asked.

"You will have to travel to the worlds, and lock the keyholes as you should've done long ago." Yen Sid told her, "But first, it may be to our benefit if you receive some new clothes, as yours are a bit on the small side."

Kira looked down and blushed, realizing that she had been wearing her old outfit from eight years ago. She stood as Master Yen Sid indicated a door on the right. She pushed it open and found three women dressed in large, extended dresses of Green, Blue, and Red. They had small, almost see through wings on their backs and carried three star wands. They turned to her and began to giggle and croon at the sight of her.

"Are you Kira dear?" The red woman asked.

"Y-yes…" She answered, not sure what was going to happen.

"I'm Flora." The Red woman said, "The leader of our little group of fairies."

"I'm Fauna" The Green Fairy said

"And I'm Merryweather." The Blue one added, a little grumpily.

"Master Yen Sid sent me to get a new outfit." Kira said, tugging lightly on her too-small jacket.

"Yes yes dear, we know. We saw you come into the tower and made it a point to talk to you before you left." Flora told her.

"Now, if you'll let us, we'd like to get started." Flora told her before flicking her wand at Kira.

Kira flinched, as red sparks poured off of her. She felt something brush past her ankles, looking down she was she was wearing a simple, sleeveless, pink dress.

"No no, not pink, blue." Merryweather said blasting Kira and turning the dress blue.

"I say Pink" Flora blasted her and changed it to pink.

"Blue!"

"Pink!"

"How about a shade of green." Fauna added as she shot Kira.

"Blue!"

"Pink!"

"Blue!"

"Pink!"

"Stop!" Kira shouted holding out her hands, the dress fluttering slightly.

The Fairies jumped at the sudden sound of her voice.

"I'm sorry if I sound ungrateful, but this isn't exactly the outfit I'd choose to fight Heartless in." She said, tugging slightly at the dress.

"I'm sorry dear." Flora said, "Alright girls, we need to work together on this. Ready?"

The three fairies turned to Kira who held out her hands and closed her eyes.

"One, two, three!"

The three fairies blasted her and Kira heard them gasp. She opened her eyes slightly, but widened them when she was the outfit. She was wearing a black jacket with a pair of pockets at the bottom on each side. She felt, more than saw, a white shirt underneath a red shirt. She was wearing a skirt that came down to mid-thigh that looked like it was made of strips of fabric and it was the color blue. Underneath the skirt was a pair of black tights that came down from her waist all the way to her ankles. She had on a simple pair of sneakers. Her hair was tied back with a green band that kept it in a long ponytail. Her bracelet containing her key chains had turned into a black cloth band that fit snugly around her wrist.

"Oh my, that looks wonderful" Fauna said happily.

"Our best work yet!" Merryweather added.

Flora nodded and turned to resume what she was doing, the other fairies did this too, a signal for Kira to return to Master Yen Sid. She turned and entered the room to find Master Yen Sid smiling.

"It seems you've gotten your new attire." He said.

Kira put her hands in front of her skirt and bowed to him, her hair fluttering past her head. "Yes master, thank you." She said.

He nodded as she stood. "Now listen to me Kira, I have a few gifts for you." He held out his hand and summoned a handful of key chains. He handed them to Kira who attached them to her band.

He summoned another band identical to Kira's, but this one was white. He handed it to her, and she slipped it over her left hand and tied the two new key chains to it. She examined the first one and saw that it was a white hourglass with a + running through the center. The other was a silver chain with a crescent moon at the bottom.

"Those are the other key chains that Sora received from the previous worlds that belong to you." Yen Sid explained as Kira stared at the others.

The first Kira noticed was a golden chain with an ice blue snowflake at the bottom. The next was a silver chain with a pink rose that had a small green stem protruding from the bottom; the third was a simple gray chain with a small lion's head. The next was a gray chain with a little yellow bird; the fifth keychain was a red ribbon that had a black angel wing as the token, the sixth was a black chain with a black crown, and the last was a string with a star token.

"Thank you Master, for returning my key chains to me." Kira said with another bow.

"As for my final gift." He turned away from a window and Kira saw her ship, only it looked newer, and the blocks had been replaced with smaller models of the previous ones that seemed to connect better than her last ship. She smiled at Yen Sid who smiled back.

She took a step forward and in a flash of light, disappeared. The Three Fairies came to say farewell before she rocketed away. Yen Sid looked into the sky long after she'd disappeared.

"I think it's time we take our leave, don't you?" he asked the fairies who nodded.

Kira sped through the Gummiverse far faster than her last ship, eventually she arrived at a world she didn't recognize, and her system identified it as Hollow Bastion. She landed the ship in the Gummi-lock then traveled down to the world. She arrived in a small town. It was a square design and all along the edges shops lined the street. The center of the square was relatively empty. She walked through the streets, making her way toward the far side of the city. As she passed through an arch-way into another block of the city she heard a voice call to her from above. She looked up to see Yuffie smiling at her; she was much older than Kira remembered.

Yuffie leapt down and she grabbed Kira, pulling her into a friendly hug. "You have no idea how worried you made us!" She shouted when she let her go.

"I'm sorry…" Kira said, confused.

"Don't worry about that now, come on! Everyone else is dying to see you again!" Yuffie took her hand and led her past a few houses until they arrived at large wooden structure, it looked like a place Merlin would live, but it had a few satellites protruding from the roof. She entered with Yuffie and gasped as she saw the whole group of Traverse Town gathered around inside.

"Kira!" Cid shouted as he came over and wrapped his arms around her.

She smiled as Cid pulled away, his strength had left her body feeling numb.

"I assume you're here for training?" Leon asked.

"Yeah, I suppose I better get used to this new world." Kira said with a slight smile.

Merlin was standing next to him and he smiled at her through his gray beard.

The next few weeks Kira spent honing her skills with Leon, during their first sparring session she'd found out about a new Keyblade technique known as Dual Cycling. It allowed her to use two keyblades at once and she immediately dove into learning all the secrets of the concept. Her second keyblade was the one Master Yen Sid had given her, she learned its name was The Path to the Body, and it was the brother keyblade to her Road to the Heart. The Path to the Body was a black blade with a silver strip that looked exactly like the Road to the Heart, it had three spokes protruding from the top of the blade and a Silver, square guard around the handle. She also had come to find that her Road to the Heart had a now Black, square guard instead of the yellow it had once been. She also discovered that they could merge with only keyblades attained from their version of the worlds, so the Road to the Heart couldn't merge with the other keychain Master Yen Sid had given her, but her Path to the Body could, the one exception being the two sibling blade could merge together to form The Way to Light, it was her most powerful keyblade, but took both of her hands to wield, and it didn't mix with any of her other key chains.

"I think I should get started on my quest." Kira told Leon one day as they traveled to their usual training grounds.

Leon nodded quietly, "It would be a good idea, and you should start by finding the keyhole here in Hollow Bastion."

Kira nodded her agreement, and when they reached the training area Leon turned to her. "I'm not training you today, I came to give you this, and a hint." He said handing her a small card.

On it was a picture of a fantasy castle with a shooting star falling through the top tower. In large letters on the bottom it read "Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Member". Kira turned it over to see in a neat script, probably Aerith's, was her name.

She smiled before pocketing the card, she turned to look up at Leon, who still was a head taller than her.

"The hint is to where the keyhole could be. If I had to guess, it would be up in the castle, that's the place where we can't break through the Heartless yet. It's still too thick."

Kira nodded before walking past him toward the castle. As she came out of earshot Leon chuckled to himself. "Let's hope she's powerful enough to handle what comes next."


	2. Hollow Bastion

The Path to the Body  
Chapter 2: Hollow Bastion

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters involved except Kira

Kira was walking through a valley in the mountains surrounding the castle of Hollow Bastion. So far she hadn't encountered any heartless.

"I hope Leon's hint was a good one." Kira said to herself as she continued along the upward path.

After a few more minutes she reached the top of the hill and was standing in what looked like the courtyard of the castle, a few feet away she noticed three small figures hovering near a chest. Kira approached quietly and listened to their conversation. As the got closed she noticed that there was a blond figure, a brunette, and a gray-haired one and they all looked female.

"I'm telling you, she said it was full of treasure!" The blond said.

"What if there isn't? What do we do then?" The gray replied.

"Then we go look for more, isn't that what we always do?" The blond answered back.

"Excuse me." Kira said making the three of the jump.

They turned to face her and noticed the small wings on their backs.

"Are you fairies?" She asked.

"No, we're treasure hunters!" The blond fairy told her.

"Treasure hunters?" Kira asked, sound skeptical.

"We hunt treasure, it's our job to find the hidden and the lost." The blond explained.

"Anyway, what are you doing here? This place is dangerous." Kira told them.

"We can handle ourselves thanks." The gray haired woman told her.

"Just who are you anyway? Does Leon know you're here?" Kira asked.

The three of them looked to each other before twirling in the air and crouching into a huddle. They began to discuss amongst themselves quietly while Kira tried to listen in, but to no avail. Eventually they turned back to her with grins on their faces.

"We're the Gullwings. I'm Yuna." The brunette stated.

"I'm Rikku." The blond added.

"Paine." The Gray-haired girl added, not sounding too interested.

"Kira." She answered them.

"Well, Kira, do you know if Leon has any treasure?" Rikku asked.

"Oh, I bet he has loads of it. He told me they've searched this castle inside out already." Kira lied to them.

They gasped and Rikku and Yuna began to chatter excitedly. After a minute they turned back to Kira.

"That settles it! We're going to hunt Leon's treasure, you can have this one anyway." Rikku said indicating the large chest behind them.

"Thanks…"

The three of them nodded before twirling in the air and disappearing in a flash. Kira approached the chest and tapped it with her Road to the Heart. It opened and at the bottom was a keychain. It had a red band with a jagged looking T as the token. She tied it to her white band and turned to head into the castle. As she crossed over the threshold a large number of heartless appeared. There were two types, one; a gray, knight looking heartless with a sword arm, the other, a small brown robotic like heartless that floated in the air.

**Armored Knight; These heartless attack in groups, and assault their prey with slashing and stabbing attacks while their sheer numbers block out resistance**

**Surveillance Robot; Heartless that patrol areas and release beacons to warn the other heartless that there is prey or an intruder, they can fire a simple laser to help defeat enemies.**

Kira summoned the Road to the Heart and the Path to the Body, charging into the group of Armored Knights, she swung in a wide arc attacking the heartless on her right, but they parried with their swords. She twirled, spinning in a complete circle as she dove through the air, the Armored Knights blocked her attacks and the Surveillance Robots fired a few beams at her that stung her body as they hit. She turned to face the group again, not knowing what to do. She leapt into the air when an idea struck her. She grabbed one of the Surveillance Robots and landed in the middle of the group, she slammed her fist on its head and it fired its beam in a large version. She twirled, dealing damage and even destroying a few of the Armored Knights. She threw the empty and stunned Surveillance Robot away.

She then charged into an Armored Knight, knocking it off balance she followed up with a double over-head swing that destroyed it. She turned to her right, swinging her keyblades along as she did, catching an Armored Knight in the side and destroying it. She swung left, and got another knight. She jumped, twirling her keyblades over her head and smashing through another knight. She looked around to see the heartless fleeing.

"That's right! Run away!" She shouted at them.

She kept her keyblades ready and continued to make her way through the castle. She spent hours wandering around inside, and eventually found what she was looking for. It was a simple wooden door. She used her keyblade to open it and passed through the threshold. As the door closed behind her she looked up to see a large keyhole outlined in blue. She held up her keyblades and they fired a beam that hit the keyhole, she heard a click and the keyhole disappeared. In its place a red orb fell to the ground. She walked over and picked it up. It lifted from her hand and began to glow, Kira jumped back with a bit of a squeak in surprise. It floated toward her, around her chest and then into her heart. She felt a massive surge of energy flow through her body, but it was gone as quickly has it had come, and she left the heart of the world, traveling back to the Hollow Bastion restoration HQ. When she arrived everyone questioned her on what happened and she explained to them about how she locked the keyhole and received the strange red orb.

"I'd suggest going to master Yen Sid, he's far more versed in keyblade lore than any of us here." Merlin told her.

"I agree." Kira replied.

"But before you go, take these." Merlin reached inside his robe and produced a small speck.

"What is it?" Kira asked as he dropped it into her hand, it seemed to crumble to pieces.

Merlin grabbed his wand and flicked it at the speck, it quickly expanded to form a pile of six books.

"What are all these?" She asked.

"Books, to teach you the basics of magic in this new world. Your spells shouldn't function as they did in the past." He explained.

"They worked fine on my ship…" She said.

"That was before you got the new one. Your old ship still contained the properties of the old Gummiverse." Cid explained.

Kira looked crestfallen as she collected the books up and bade farewell to her friends. She boarded her Gummi ship and traveled back to Twilight Town, ignoring the two new worlds that her system identified, she'd visit these when she'd discovered what that orb had done. She appeared in Yen Sid's tower and questioned him about the orb.

"What you obtained is a drive form. It's a device invented by previous keyblade masters to allow the younger wielders a chance to show their potential." Yen Sid explained, "Each wielder changes accordingly and receives the orbs at certain points in their training."

"What do you mean, changes accordingly?" Kira asked.

"Well, for example. The form you received is known as Valor Form, it's powers enhance your combat skills with the keyblade far beyond what you could normally achieve. However, this will cost you your ability to perform magic entirely while you are in this form." Yen Sid explained, "Also, when I say each wielder changes accordingly, it means that your form would look different from mine."

Kira nodded as he explained. "How many forms are there?" She asked.

"That depends on the person." Yen Sid told her.

Kira sighed.

"Keep your chin up Kira. The forms are only an assistance to you, if you pass your Mark of Mastery exam, you may no longer need them." Yen Sid told her, "one more thing I forgot to mention; you can only spend so much time in each form, that can increase as you use the form and defeat enemies, however keep in mind that using your drive forms drains your level of power considerably, and it will be some time before you can use them again."

"I understand, thank you master." She said, bowing to him.

"Now go. There are other worlds to save, and no time to do it." He said.

Kira turned and left the tower, boarding her Gummi-ship she set her course to another world, identified as "The Land of Dragons". As the ship steered its course she sat down to read her spell books.


	3. The Land of the Dragons

The Path to the Body  
Chapter 3: The Land of the Dragons

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters involved except Kira.

Kira had left Twilight Town and was now heading to one of the new worlds. The first was labeled as "The Land of the Dragons". She disembarked on this world. She appeared in a medieval Chinese military camp. She looked around to see that the camp was currently empty. She also noticed that the camp was set up in grassland near a river, and a small wall ran the perimeter. A mountain was off in distance.

"Where is everyone?" Kira asked, bending down and scratching at the dirt.

"You there!" A male voice shouted at her.

She turned to see a man wearing Chinese armor with a red cape come out of a nearby tent. She stood up and turned to him. She leaned on her right leg.

"Yes?" She asked him.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"My name is Kira." She said, straightening and bowing to him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, "This is a military camp, men only."

"That's a bit sexist." Kira said.

"No it's not. You should know that by now, your place as a woman is back at home caring for the children." The Captain told her.

"I don't even own any children." She told him, putting her hands on her hips and leaning toward him.

He glared at her, "What kind of woman are you?" he asked, "You're not married to a man? Did he die in battle? Old age?"

"I've never been married." She said, her face beginning to turn red.

"Well you need to get out. This isn't your place; as I said before, go home."

"No way!" She shouted at him. "I'm here to defeat the Heartless."

"Are you talking back to your superior?" He asked, getting angry at her.

"You're not my superior!" Kira shouted at him.

"I am because I'm a man!" He reached back to slap her, but when he brought his hand down she caught it by the wrist and twisted, hard.

He gasped in pain as he crouched to keep the pain down. He looked up at Kira who was glaring daggers at him. His anger faded after a minute and an honest look of interest came over his face. Kira let him go and shoved him, staggering him back. She was breathing heavily, still angry from earlier. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it as she reached out her hands on both sides.

"Who taught you how to fight?" he asked, after she put her hands back to her sides.

"I'm self-taught. I received some finer points from a few different trainers."

"I see, they were all men?"

"Yes, one of them was as old as I am now when he trained me."

The captain nodded. "Kira was it?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"I'm Shang. Captain Shang, I run the military camp here."

"You didn't have to tell me twice. What's going on here?"

He sighed, "I don't see any harm in telling you. You'd be able to kill me and my men if you worked for the Huns."

"The Huns?" She asked.

"A group of warriors from the Northern Plateau. They've recently invaded China, and my men and I were dispatched to stop them."

"How many of your men are there?" Kira asked him.

"There are approximately forty of us here."

"That doesn't seem like a lot of men to stop an army."

"The General was sent ahead of us to stop the Huns."

"Ah, well, since you don't want me here. I have a question, have you seen any black creatures running around? Or maybe a strange area that is forbidden to go?"

Shang thought about it for a moment, "There's a group of black creatures down that path."

Kira nodded and turned to leave, she lifted a hand in farewell.

"Thanks." She called to Shang.

She arrived at a river crossing and stopped. She looked around, trying to spot any heartless.

"I don't see anything… maybe Shang lied to me?" She suggested.

She turned to go ask him again when a squad of heartless appeared, a large centaur like heartless wielding a jagged spear, along with a squad of six shadows appeared in front of her.

**Assault Rider: These large, centaur like heartless use their spears to skewer their enemies, beware when they begin to get weak, as they begin to deal explosive damage to enemies.**

Kira threw out her hands and summoned The Road to Scares and The Path to the Stars. The Path to the Stars was a black, crooked keyblade with a large, C shape at the top, just inside was a silver crescent moon with a silver star inside the moon. The handle looked like silver wings with two circles that contained silver stars. The keychain held an hourglass with a crescent moon in it.

The Assault Rider lunged at her, she caught the blade of the spear between the keyblades, but the six Shadows lunged at her, clawing at her body. She gasped in pain before shoving the keyblades up so the spear threw the Assault Rider off balance. She leapt back and held her blades out at angles to her body.

"_Should I try Valor form? I don't think I'll be able to handle that Assault Rider if I don't… especially with the Shadows to provide support."_

Kira activated the power and she felt the energy flow through her body, she threw her arms out as the power kicked in. She was covered in light and a shield formed before blowing out to send the Shadows flying as they tried to attack her again. When the light faded her outfit had changed. She was now wearing a red shirt and jacket, the jacket had a large black, outline of a sword on the back and she was wearing a pair of red shorts that came to her knees, a black line ran across the bottom, her tights had disappeared. Her sneakers had been replaced with combat boots that had white laces. She rushed forward, leaping into the air higher than she'd expected, she flew over the Assault Rider, landing behind him. She turned with a slash and sent the Rider flying. She rushed forward after him and unleashed a rapid assault of blows that quickly defeated it, in a last attack she slammed her keyblades into the ground sending up a large blast of light around her that destroyed the six shadows.

She turned from the battle-field and heard more space tearing. She looked up to see a group of new heartless. There were three, floating in the air and wearing a type of red robe with black sleeves and back, and a crimson front, a gold line separated the colors. A tag with the heartless symbol was attached to its hat, which was red on the bottom with a gold jagged line that separated from a black top. Another six shadows on the ground underneath them.

**Nightwalkers: These heartless attack persistently by hacking at enemies with their clawed hands, quick dispatching is advised of their enemies.**

Kira leapt into the air and X-slashed through a Nightwalker, cutting it to pieces and destroying it. She landed and twirled, hacking through a Shadow as it tried to lunge at her. She jumped again, front flipping through the air as she came down with a double overhead blow, the Nightwalker had moved though, and her blades sailed through thin air. She landed, slamming her keyblades onto the floor sending up the beams of light again, destroying the five Shadows. She looked up and glared at the Nightwalkers, leaping again she felt her power suddenly drain, she returned to her normal form and fell to the ground on her back. The Nightwalkers swarmed down on her and began to hack at her with his claws. She tried to activate her Valor form again, but it didn't work. She weakly lifted a keyblade up, shifting it to The Road to Wisdom. "Thunder!" thunder dropped from the sky and stunned the two Nightwalkers. She pushed herself back away from the Nightwalkers before lunging forward, the keyblades locked in an X in front of her neck. She slashed outward, carving through the two Nightwalkers. As they disappeared she let the keyblades fade away. Looking toward the path into the mountains she proceeded on her search for the inner keyhole. As she progressed up she found a small town of people who shrunk away in fear of her if they didn't disappear into their houses. She stopped on the other side of town, leaning on her left leg and putting a her right hand on her hip she looked around, in front of her was another path into the mountains, to her right was a small cave. She turned to her right and walked into the cave. She walked through the cave, a few candles along the walls providing a small amount of light, her footsteps echoed off the walls as she walked. She reached the end of the cave and found herself in a large circular chamber. She looked around when she spotted a door-frame in the back wall, easily hidden by the shadows cast by the candles. She took a step toward it when the room suddenly filled with Heartless. Three Assault Riders, six Nightwalkers, and twelve Shadows appeared in the room with her, she leapt back into the tunnel and summoned her Path to the Stars and her Road to Scares.

"You aren't going to stop me." She said to the Heartless as they gathered in front of her.

She rushed in as the Shadows around her disappeared into the floor. She jumped lightly into the air, swinging in a right arc at one of the Assault Riders. It caught her blades on the handle of its spear and she was deflected. As she was thrown back, she finished the arc and was caught again on the handle and blade of another Assault Rider. She finished her twirl and leapt back, two Nightwalkers missed their attacks at her. She landed, sliding slightly backward before rushing forward again. She jumped a few inches off the ground and pulled her limbs to her sides and pinned her keyblades together by their spokes and began to spin. She drilled into one of the Assault Riders, dealing considerable damage until it disappeared. She flew past it and landed next to the far wall, two Nightwalkers lunged at her, but she twirled on the spot, her keyblades held out and smacked them away. They flew into the remaining Nightwalkers. She ran toward them as the Shadows came up around her they lunged at her with their claws extended. She lifted her keyblades up "Thunder" Lightning rained down stunning the shadows. She slashed through two of them with downward attacks. Twirling on the spot she caught an Assault Rider's spear between her keyblades, shredding up the handle she twirled in a backflip, upper cutting the Assault Rider and forcing it back. She landed and slammed her keyblades into the ground behind her, catching two Shadows unaware.

She ran forward, lifting her right hand above her head, her left coming up to protect her body. The Assault Rider she deflected attempted to stab her, but she blocked it with her Path to the Stars. She leapt up and swung her right hand in an overhead slash, her left hand came around in a left hand follow up with a double overhead slash before she twirled in the air, hitting him twice more. The last blow forced him backward against the wall. She landed, throwing her keyblades out and grasping them by the chains "Fire" She twirled them as they caught on fire, a ring of fireballs dancing around her as four Shadows rushed at her with a Nightwalker. The Shadows disappeared but the Nightwalker was thrown back as its body caught fire and began to take continual damage. Two more Nightwalkers rushed her, slashing her with their claws. She gasped in pain and collapsed slightly. She regained her feet and looked up to fight the rest of the Heartless when one of the remaining Shadows was destroyed by a figure standing in the cave entrance.

"Who's there?" Kira shouted at them.

"My name is Ping. I'm here to help you." He called.

"No! Get out of here! These enemies are too strong for you to handle!"

"I can't leave, not until I know you're ok. Captain Shang asked me to bring you back."

Kira's eyes widened at those words, she immediately regained her composure. "Alright, but don't let me catch you off guard soldier!"

"Understood!"

The two of them charged into the Heartless mob. Kira slashed from both sides, bringing the blades over top each other as she destroyed two more Shadows. She leapt up and brought the blades out across one of the Nightwalkers, destroying it. Ping dodged beside her, slashing through the last Shadow as he twirled, coming around ready to block an incoming attack. The Two Assault Riders were charging him and he caught the tips of their spears on his sword. Kira appeared behind them, a quick succession of blows caught them both from behind and destroyed them. The pair turned to the last Nightwalker and readied their weapons. It foolishly charged them but Kira was ready, she stepped forward with her right keyblade above her head and left lowered by her legs. She swung once and destroyed it. She let her keyblades disappeared and turned to Ping.

"So, captain Shang sent you?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips and leaning back.

"Yes." Ping nodded.

"He sent you at just the right time. If you'd shown up a few minutes later I may not have made it." She told him.

Ping nodded again.

"Well, thanks." She said as she entered the door-frame.

She looked up to see the floating, glowing keyhole. Aiming her keyblades at it she released a beam that echoed a locking sound through the room. A single keychain floated down to her, it was a chain of solid, square links with a gold coin that had a diverse etching on it as the token. She turned and left the keyhole room. As she exited she saw Ping was waiting for her. She led the young soldier out of the cave, and back to the military camp. She walked out of the camp into a secluded bamboo spot not too far away. She disappeared in a flash of light, reappearing on her gummi ship. She turned the ship toward another nearby world and set the thrusters on, turned on Auto-pilot and began to read more of her spell books.


	4. Beast's Castle

The Path to the Body

Chapter 4: Beast's Castle

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters involved except Kira

Kira was sitting in a small room that was lit only by a single lantern hanging from the ceiling. Her head was covered on the right side in caked blood, and she seemed to be unconscious, her two keyblades were still gripped tightly in her hands. The room was scarcely furnished, with a round spool table in the corner to the left of the door; a stack of three crates surrounded by hay lay across the room from the table. Kira was leaning against the back wall directly opposite a stone door in front of her. She groaned as her body stirred. Her head rolled to one side and she opened her eyes slowly, the lantern light seemed all too bright to the darkness of her closed eyes.

"What happened?" She asked herself as she tried to stand, only to collapse onto one knee.

She looked up at the door as a panel slid sideways and a tray of food, a single loaf of bread and a block of cheese, was thrown into the room. The panel slid shut again and the sound of heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway outside. Kira crawled forward and ate the bread and cheese. When she felt some of her strength return she lifted her keyblade above her head. "Heal" A green light radiated down from her keyblade and the blood on her face disappeared as her wounds were healed and her energy restored. She pushed herself up and stared at the door. She lunged at it, shouldering against it with all her strength, but it seemed to be locked and there wasn't a doorknob to turn anywhere. She backed away and summoned her two keyblades. Aiming them at the door she released a single white beam that made a clicking sound in the door, it slid open and she wandered out.

In the room outside she noticed a pair of stairs leading up to a balcony above where two suits of armor stood guard against a black hole in the wall, in front of her was a pair of double stone doors. She took a step forward and the sound of Heartless appearing alerted her to an army of Shadows. She lifted her keyblades, ready for a fight.

The small army, of Shadows, twenty of them to be precise, disappeared randomly into the floor, easily anticipating Kira's movements. As if they knew where she would attack and how, they also attacked her when she was most vulnerable, dealing a large amount of damage, as her vision began to fade she heard the heavy footsteps again, this time at a much faster rate, she heard a loud roar echo off the walls and she turned to see the double stone doors burst off their hinges as a large brown beast came flying into the room. It landed on all fours, smashing four Shadows with its weight alone. It reared its head up and roared again, stunning the above ground Shadows. It swung in two might slashes, its clawed hands hacking through the Shadows easily. Half of the Shadows had been killed when it sat back down on all fours again. Kira lifted her keyblades, ready to resume the fight, she willed her Valor form to activate and she felt the power build inside her as the blast of light destroyed two more Shadows as they tried to attack her. She felt her outfit change and felt her strength grow. When it finished she swung her keyblades in a devastating circle around her body, destroying any Shadows close to her. She slammed her keyblades into the ground, sending up five beams of light that launched the Shadows from the ground, leaving them open to the beast's attacks. When they finished off the Heartless Kira turned to the beast that stood up on its hind legs. Now that she could examine it, she saw the beast was male, it had large brown fur all over its body, two black horns protruded from its head, and two large, blue eyes stared back at her. It wore a simple purple cape that was held with a gold medal on the left shoulder. It had no shirt and wore a pair of tight purple pants that seemed too small as they only came up halfway on its shins.

"I'm glad to see you're alright." The Beast told her in a dark, gruff voice.

She gasped, not expecting it to speak. "Who are you?" She asked.

He looked at her like she was playing a game he didn't like. "Did they really hurt you that badly?" he asked.

"Who are _they_?" She asked.

"Those black beasts, as you arrived at my castle you were greeted with open arms, but they attacked us and we fought them off for a while, but eventually they overwhelmed us. I was trapped in my room at the top of the castle tower while you were trapped her in the dungeons." The Beast explained.

"Then, you're my ally?" She asked.

He nodded. "I'm simply known as Beast." He said, "You don't need to tell me who you are. I already know Kira." He said, holding up a clawed hand as he saw her open her mouth to introduce herself.

"Alright Beast, what did I say before the Heartless attacked?"

"You explained to me that you were looking for a sort of keyhole. One that was similar to the one Sora found in Hollow Bastion." The Beast told her.

Her eyes widened. "You fought alongside Sora?" She asked him.

He nodded, "But now is not the time to dwell on the past. My castle has been infested with these Heartless, and I'll need your help to get rid of them. If you assist me, I think I know where the keyhole is that you seek."

Kira immediately nodded "Alright, let's get going." She said.

The Beast nodded before turning to leave the dungeon. As they arrived outside Kira found herself in a large hallway room. To their left was a simple pink wall, to their right, a staircase extended up the left hand side of the room to a double entrance to somewhere Kira didn't know, ahead of them the hallway continued for a few more feet then turned left.

"Come, I've already stopped the Heartless on the way to my room, the main hall is probably full of them."

Kira nodded and followed the Beast down the hallway, turning left at the end they continued through an arched doorway that took them out into a large, main hall. A set of pillars on both sides of the room held the building up. It was darker in the hall than it had been in the rest of the castle; they looked down to see a staircase leading down to a platform where a large pair of double doors entered into what Kira would assume was the ballroom. Across from the double doors was a smaller set of stairs to lead them to the floor, but on the other side was a set of stairs that led up to another arched doorway similar to the one they were standing in.

"Come, Belle is probably in danger." Beast said, waving a hand and leading her down the stairs. They climbed down to the landing, then back up the other side. As they entered the arched doorway they found themselves in a dark hallway with a single door on the right.

"Belle's room is just beyond that door." Beast took a step into the hallway when more Heartless appeared.

A pair of Large Bodies blocked their entrance to Belle's room, while a group of six soldiers appeared to fight them, with twelve Shadows as backup. Kira rushed forward, attempting to finish the fight quickly, as her Valor form didn't have much time left. She slammed her keyblades into the ground, launching beams of light up that scattered the Heartless. She swung from the right and destroyed a Soldier; she swung left and destroyed a Shadow. She leapt up and twirled through a pair of Soldiers, landing in the midst of the heartless, she spun, releasing a large wave of energy that killed the remaining Heartless except fort the two Large bodies. She ran forward, leaping over their heads, landing on the other side of them. She stabbed her keyblades in a single strike, aiming for the center of the right Large Body's back. She sent it flying through the air and turned on its partner; her Valor form wore off and in reaction threw out her keyblades, catching them by the chains "Fire" The two blades caught fire and she slammed them into the Large Body's back, sending it flying through the air, on fire this time. It landed with a slam on its partner and destroyed the both of them. Beast looked on in amazement at how easily she had dispatched the enemies.

"Why didn't you fight like that the first time?" he asked as he walked past her and opened the door.

Inside was a small bedroom, a wardrobe on the far side stood silently against the wall. A bed opposite it. The Beast shouldered his way into the room and Kira followed, she stopped as she saw a single woman standing in a blue dress with a white apron over it. She had a small amount of brown hair tied in a bun behind her head. She turned to them and gasped in pleasure, seeing the Beast, and running into his arms.

"I'm so glad you're alright." She cried into his furry chest.

"You knew I'd come back for you." The Beast told her as he smiled, closing his eyes in happiness.

Kira smiled to herself before turning, and leaving the two alone. She made her way back to the main hall and stepped down onto floor level. She summoned her keyblades again as more heartless appeared, some of them the statues that were positioned next to the pillars. It looked like a group of eighteen Shadows, fourteen Soldiers, and six each; of sword statues and axe statues. She rushed forward; pointing her keyblades at the sky "Thunder" The lightning storm rained down on the Heartless and stunned most of them. She brought her keyblades down on a Shadow and killed it. She turned with a swing and struck out a Soldier behind her. She leapt over a pair of thrusting Sword Statues, slamming her keyblades into the backs of their heads and destroying them. She landed with her back turned to the mob. She threw her keyblades out and grasped them by the chains "Fire" Two balls of fire lit the tips of her keyblade, dealing damage as five Shadows lunged at her. She turned on the spot and held her keyblades out "Freeze" A single ice ball launched from her keyblade tips and smashed into a statue, sending it flying back and slowing the movements of those around the impacted Heartless. She rushed forward in a flurry of slashing and stabbing movements, appeared on the other side. Six Shadows, four Soldiers, and two more of each statue disappeared. She stood, flicking her keyblades toward the ground while the Heartless remerged their ranks and moved on her. She waited for a second when a sudden roar cut off the Heartless. They stopped, turning on the spot to find the Beast already in the air, it landed in the middle of the group, scattering them for those he didn't land on. He rushed forward and stood up in front of Kira.

"You shouldn't have run off." He told her.

"You didn't need to come after me." She said innocently.

He grinned.

"They're getting together again."

Turning, The Beast and Kira lunged into the group of Heartless. The Beast, hacking away with his claws, killed and dissipated any Heartless that got too close. Kira followed behind him, mopping up any Heartless he missed. The two formed an odd team, the Beast with his brute strength and powerful attacks, Kira with her acrobatic flips, slashes, and stabs. They fought for hours, and when it was finally over collapsed in the middle of the entrance hall, back to back. Kira let her keyblades fall from her grip and clatter to the floor at her sides. The Beast's chest was heaving with exertion.

"So, you told me you thought you knew where the keyhole is?" She asked.

He grunted in agreement.

"Mind showing me?"

He remained silent, and then when he was ready, stood and led the way toward the pair of double doors they had yet to enter. Kira stood, grabbing her keyblades and following him, the two swords crossed over her shoulders in an X.

He stopped in front of the doors and turned to look at her.

"This is the ballroom, where I used to enjoy living. If the heart of this castle is anywhere, it would be here."

He pushed open the large doors and led Kira into a golden room; it was a large empty chamber with three tall windows on the far side, above them, set in a gold chandelier, hundreds of tiny candles burned brightly. To their left and right were pillars of gold that held up an extra level. Kira looked around and saw a door, obscured by the shadows of the pillars. She walked up and pushed it aside. Stepping into the all familiar darkness of the keyhole to the world, she aimed her keyblades at the floating keyhole, and together they fired a beam to lock the world, and keep the Heartless from taking it. As the light faded a pair of shining objects fell from the sky. A small blue orb that looked similar to her Valor Orb, and another keychain. The chain looked like a vine, in color and shape, and at the end was a spiky red rose that looked like it had been carved from blood. She attached it to her left hand band and left the room. When she appeared outside, the door behind her disappeared. She looked at the orb that had descended and smiled as she let it be absorbed into her body, she felt her magical powers excel to an all new high, but only for a moment. When it faded she was standing in the Beast's ballroom again. She left the ballroom, and found a small room off to the side of the main entrance hall; she boarded her ship from there and looked around the Gummi Ship. She set the ship's thrusters to travel to Olympus Coliseum; she couldn't wait to see Hercules again. She brought out her spell books and continued to read.


End file.
